The public beta program for Norton AntiVirus (NAV) 2009 and Norton Internet …

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Norton Internet Security (NIS) and Norton AntiVirus (NAV) product lines may be the most popular security software solutions, but they are at the same time often criticized for being very ineffective at locking down a Windows computer and very effective at hogging resources. Nevertheless, after years of being condemned as having destroyed a great line of security applications, Symantec has slowly began to make a turnaround.

I believe it truly started with the Norton 2008 line, but Symantec is telling me that the real change is going to come in the 2009 line-up, which has "performance" as a key feature. According to Rowan Trollope, Senior Vice President of Consumer Products, the company's bold goal is "to create the fastest security product in the world, hands down."

The public betas of NIS 2009 and NAV 2009 are available now at the Symantec Beta Center (English, German and, Japanese versions). I know you're skeptical on downloading this one, especially since Symantec is claiming a "one-click and one-minute complete product installation," so I'll run you through what to expect before you get your hands dirty.

Both products together include 300 performance-related improvements, reducing both disk space and memory usage. Symantec has also included a new technology that improves scan times in NIS 2009 and NAV 2009 called Norton Insight. Insight avoids scanning files in the first place by leveraging data from millions of Norton Community members commonly found on most computers and statistically determined to be trusted. I personally hope those statistics take into consideration that key Windows files can become infected and that the same spyware often resides on millions of computers.

Furthermore, Symantec is claiming that the Pulse Updates feature will include "up-to-the-minute response time against new threats with signature updates streaming in near real time." In essence, the company is shifting its strategy towards employing smaller and more frequent updates. The company is also touting a new silent mode which automatically suspends alerts and updates to avoid interrupting or slowing games and movies.

Finally, the actual security features deserve a quick glance. NAV 2009 comes with Norton Protection System, a multilayered protection system that includes Browser Protection, real-time SONAR protection, Intrusion Prevention Systems, antirootkit, antivirus, and antispyware technologies. NIS 2009 adds onto NAV 2009 with botnet protection, Identity Safe improvements, a Home Networking feature, as well as a two-way (inbound and outbound) firewall. Symantec has not given a date for when it expects the beta program to end, though it did say that the final products are to launch in the fall.